Friday Q & A

From the parish bulletin of St. Gregory the Great Parish in Bluffton, South Carolina:

"Why can we eat fish on days of abstinence? Fish and most other animals that live in water are cold-blooded. Abstinence from meat applies only to the meat of warmblooded animals. So we may also eat frog’s legs, turtle soup, alligator, and even snake (which is a delicacy in some places) … just not the meat from a bird or mammal."

If nothing else, it shows that Catholics in the South typically have a wider variety of foods to choose from on Fridays of Lent. Unless anyone feel slighted, here in the Western U.S. we remain free to indulge in rattlesnake. I hear it tastes like chicken. Maybe we talk the KofC into hosting a Lenten Rattlesnake Barbecue one of these years!

By virtue of our Baptism, in which we died with Christ and were raised with him, in addition to meat, let us abstain from all that separates us from God and from each other, all that does not flow from genuine love/charity/caritas/agapé.

Prayer from Lauds for the Second Friday of Lent:

Merciful Father,
may our acts of penance bring us your forgiveness,
open our hearts to your love,
and prepare us for the coming feast of the resurrection.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Lent, again!

I received an e-mail last evening, the subject of which was- no kidding- Realize total and absolute power. It was like getting an e-mail from the devil (too bad he is far more subtle than the ham-fisted spammer). I suppose it caught my attention more than usual because I preached on the First Sunday of Lent. It also reminded me of something I read earlier yesterday, a masterful paraphrase of a passage from C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce: "any besetting lust, whether the lust be lust for power, or acclaim, or the satisfactions of the flesh . . . any sin that a man ultimately refuses to do without will damn him." I would suppose, to logically complete the thought, it damns him because he prefers his sin to God. This made me mindful of what a lovely prayer the Act of Contrition is:

My God,
I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against You, whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend,
with Your help,
to do penance,
to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In His name my God have mercy.
Amen.

May we strive to love God, who "loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins." Therefore, "if God so loved us, we also must love one another (1 Jn 4,10-11). It is only by loving God first and most that we are able to love our neighbor as we should.

Lent Two Weeks on

Two weeks ago today we inaugurated the holy season of Lent. It is a good time, in light of one of the petitions from Morning Prayer today, to take up briefly the role that suffering and struggling play in our sanctification: "help us to receive good things from your bounty with a deep sense of gratitude- and to accept with patience the evil that comes to us." When bad things come our way, we are presented with opportunities for self-reflection and to acquire virtue, not the least among which is humility. Our faith, our relationship with the Lord in prayer, helps us to frame our difficulties as part of a bigger picture, the true picture. The ability to do this is nothing less than the God-given gift of hope. As the author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes: "You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons: 'My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges'" (Heb 12,5-6).

Therefore, may we seek and find God in all things, even our trials and struggles, maybe even especially in our trials and struggles, whether they result from our own choices, or just happen to us unexpectedly. After all, the point from Hebrews holds even when we fail to perceive the relative justice of that which causes us to suffer and struggle. Besides, bearing wrongs patiently is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy, perhaps the most difficult one to practice.

Father,
teach us to live good lives,
encourage us with your support
and bring us to eternal life.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Communion and Liberation

Msgr. Giussani speaking

Last night in my lecture I mentioned how much what the Holy Father writes in the first part of Deus Caritas Est reminds me of the writings of the late Monsignor Luigi Giussani, founder of Communion and Liberation, who, by the Pope's own admission, "changed my life". In his homily at the funeral of Msgr. Giussani in February 2005, then-Cardinal Ratzinger stated: "Communion and Liberation brings to mind immediately this discovery proper of the modern era, freedom. It also brings to mind St Ambrose’s phrase, 'Ubi fides est libertas.' Cardinal Biffi drew our attention to the near coincidence of this phrase of St Ambrose with the foundation of Communion and Liberation. Focusing on freedom as a gift proper of faith, he also told us that freedom, in order to be true, human freedom, freedom in truth, needs communion. An isolated freedom, a freedom only for the 'I,' would be a lie, and would destroy human communion. In order to be true, and therefore in order to be efficient, freedom needs communion, and not just any kind of communion, but ultimately communion with truth itself, with love itself, with Christ, with the Trinitarian God. Thus is built community that creates freedom and gives joy."

I have also mentioned in some previous posts how much I want to start a CL School of Community. Papa Ratzi himself attends a SOC, you can read more on this written by Rocco Palmo on Whispers in his post The Pope's Saturday "School". For those so inclined, I direct you to the U.S. Communion and Liberation website. Surf around and see for yourself. It is worth a little time.

The necessity of prayer

Mary Magdalene in Prayer

"For Christians," Pope Benedict taught at his Wednesday audience, "prayer does not mean evading reality and the responsibilities reality brings, rather it means a complete assumption of those responsibilities, trusting in the faithful and infinite love of the Lord. For this reason, the confirmation of the Transfiguration is, paradoxically, the Garden of Gethsemane" when, "on the eve of His Passion, Jesus experienced mortal anguish and entrusted Himself to divine will.

"At that moment, His prayer was a pledge for the salvation of us all. In fact, Jesus pleaded with the heavenly Father to 'save Him from death' and, as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes, 'He was heard because of His reverent submission.' The proof of this is the Resurrection."

Prayer, then, "is not an accessory, an optional extra, but a question of life or death. Only those who pray, in other words those who entrust themselves to God with filial love, can enter into eternal life, which is God Himself."

Blogging and accountability

NB:This post has been edited a bit from its original, which I posted yesterday. I probably posted it too soon, while I was too emotional. What is changed are mostly deletions. While I certainly accept the need to be accountable, at the end of the day, I have not attacked anybody or been uncharitable in anything I have written. If my intentions have been misunderstood, I do bear some responsibility for that, but I do not have a problem asking for and expecting others, out of charity, to give me the benefit of the doubt, just as I am willing to do the same. While I may disagree with others, I do not question their intentions or assign them motives. Finally, there is nothing I write here that I do not own and would not say.

It has been my practice since beginning to blog in earnest last July, as a deacon blogging on a site called Catholic Deacon, to be accountable for what I write. Shortly after deciding the blogging life was for me, I let my pastor know what I was doing and gave him the URL so he knows where to go when he wants to read what I am writing and publicly posting on a daily basis. For a person in my position such accountability is crucial. If I am ever called upon to stop by the bishop, my pastor, or the vicar general, I will do so. In my blogging I try to steer clear of controversies, like the one that exploded on front page of the Salt Lake Tribune this morning in an article, by Peggy Fletcher Stack, entitled, Gay-friendly Mass on way out. I did make a comment on another blog stating my opposition to what was happening in Park City, pointing out that I did not think it was in accordance with the guidelines issued by the USCCB last November, entitled: Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care, which I addressed in a post last fall: Another delicate matter. I have since deleted that comment.

I want this blog to be a source of catchesis, thoughtful reflection on contemporary life in light of our faith, as well as a source of inspiration and dialogue at service of communion. Should my efforts come to be perceived as being primarily ideological and, hence, divisive, I will simply stop. I continue to believe, however, that such efforts are vital, even if they stir controversy from time-to-time. In this age it is necessary for the Church at every level to have a presence in cyber-space. Of course, these efforts require appropriate pastoral oversight. I readily accept that there are some who may disagree with me or my way of explaining things. I invite those who disagree with me to join the discussion. It is my on-going promise that all who participate here will continue to be treated with dignity and respect.

The reason I even deign to mention all this is because my post, A gratuitously long exposition on the Church's mission, has been perceived by some as a criticism of Archbishop Niederauer, whom I love dearly and about whom I have written frequently and glowingly. I offer the following two examples that indicate the high esteem in which I hold him: The Sacrament of Holy Orders on an Anniversary and Well done, Archbishop Niederauer! Even in my other long post on related matters, Church and State in Democratic Societies: The Shifting Balance, my critical comments seem to me quite tempered. I recognize the difficulties bishops face in the many complex and highly-charged issues they are forced to deal with and understand that solutions are not one size fits all.

What I intended the post in question to be was a pitch for our Diocesan Development Drive, which is what provides the resources for the bishop of our diocese to meet the pastoral needs of our local Church. Far from being a criticism of then-Bishop Niederauer, my post sought to discuss the unique position our diocese is in presently: meeting the needs of an exploding Catholic population and dealing, as all dioceses must, with the scarcity of resources. Also, for what it was worth, pointing out a few areas that, in my opinion, we should make higher priorities as time goes on. As I mentioned in the post, these are great challenges, both in terms of their magnitude and, among an unlimited range of possibilities, these are the challenges to have! Nonetheless, I deleted the offending post.

Please know, that I also look to you, my readers, to hold me accountable. I am a firm believer in, and try to be a practitioner of what our Lord outlines in Matthew chapter 18, verses 15-17, which begins: "If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother."

The point and purpose of obedience

This is a re-worked version of a post from yesterday. I deleted the previous post.

I just read a really wonderful article written by His Excellency, Robert Vasa, bishop of the Diocese of Baker, Oregon, entitled, There are just and unjust choices — church teaching helps. Bishop Vasa's article, commenting on The Rites of Election he presided over in his diocese on the First Sunday of Lent, builds on last evening's RCIA class at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the topic for which was the Sacrament of Matrimony. It especially puts me mind of our discussion of marital sexuality towards the end of class. It is vitally important for adults seeking to enter into full communion with the Church to know what the Church teaches on such delicate matters, to borrow a phrase from Papa Luciani.

In addition to the post for which the link above is provided, I also addressed the issue of marital sexuality in the wake of a wonderful document issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at their meeting last November in a post called Marriage and the Gift of Life: Some Diaconal Observations. Finally, in the wake of a very unenlighthened article in the Salt Lake Tribune by a Philosophy professor from the "U", in which he castigates religiously held views of sexuality, I offer my post on sexuality in general: Observing the gap through the prism of sexuality. The long and short of all this, in light of Bishop Vasa's column, is that adults need to know both what Christ teaches us through the Church and why the Church teaches what she does (i.e., the reasons derived from both reason and revelation), so that they can give their free assent to these teachings, even if this causes some grappling, doubt, and fear.

We engage in the struggle so that we are ever more conformed, by God's grace, given us in and through the sacraments, to Christ. Struggling with certain clear teachings, either to accept or to live these freeing truths, may be a life-long process. The point, however, is not to drive ourselves crazy by futilely trying to adhere to a list of dos and donts that we perceive as being externally imposed on us. In his first encyclical, our Holy Father wrote, "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction" (Deus Caritas Est, 1). The point and the mode of life that arises from being a Christian, therefore, is to become ever more like God, who is fully revealed in Jesus Christ, and who is love- agapé (1 Jn 4,8.16). In a word, through the struggle, with the undeserved help of God, we become divinized. It is for no other reason that we engage in the agon, knowing that we need God's help, which He freely gives us, especially through the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist. Put simply, we must always keep in mind that the only good reason for obedience can be nothing other than love of God and neighbor. Such an understanding should immunize us against the sin of self-righteousness.

More importantly, it is the grave responsibility of those, like myself, entrusted by our bishops and pastors with teaching the faith, to know, to strive to live, and to be able and willing to clearly communicate what the Church teaches, especially on these matters that, in our culture, all too easily become matters of serious confusion. Here is an extract from the good bishop's column that bears reading:

"Some months ago a prominent Catholic public person, described as faithful to the church, was asked if being pro-choice or pro-abortion was an issue which conflicted with the Catholic Faith. Here is what was said: 'To me it isn’t even a question. God has given us a free will. We’re all responsible for our actions. If you don’t want an abortion, you don’t believe in it, then don’t have one. But don’t tell somebody else what they can do in terms of honoring their responsibilities.' According to a close relative the choice to have an abortion or not to have an abortion had no moral component whatsoever. 'They were just choices.'

It seems to me that there are just choices and there are unjust choices. Choices would be the preference for chocolate ice cream over vanilla ice cream or sherbet instead of ice cream. That is just a choice.

A just choice would be to choose to pay a fair and living wage to employees as opposed to simply meeting the mandatory standard of minimum wage laws. An unjust choice would be to choose to terminate the life of another human being. This is not just a choice and it is not a just choice; it is an unjust choice.

Furthermore it is an unjust choice which is diametrically opposed to the clear and consistent teaching of the Catholic Church as well as to the clear and consistent teaching of God Himself in the Ten Commandments. The direct, intentional taking of the life of an innocent human being is inhumane and unjust. It is not just a choice!

It is categorically impossible for the same person to state that he or she believes simultaneously both what the Catholic Church teaches and that abortion is just a choice. What we believe must inform what we do."

Indeed, there is a link between orthodoxy and orthopraxis, lest theology become, borrowing from Herman Hesse, as quoted by then-Cardinal Ratzinger in the mid-90s, a "glass bead game." Bishop Vasa's words bear pondering today, which falls during this season of preparation for and renewal of our baptismal covenant with God, made possible by Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, who effects the sacraments. Number 25 of the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, is also worth reflecting upon at this time:
Among the principal duties of bishops the preaching of the Gospel occupies an eminent place. For bishops are preachers of the faith, who lead new disciples to Christ, and they are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach to the people committed to them the faith they must believe and put into practice, and by the light of the Holy Spirit illustrate that faith. They bring forth from the treasury of Revelation new things and old, making it bear fruit and vigilantly warding off any errors that threaten their flock. Bishops, teaching in communion with the Roman Pontiff, are to be respected by all as witnesses to divine and Catholic truth. In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and will in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking." (emboldening and underlining are mine).

Dear friends, this is my last post at least until Tuesday. It is time for me finalize the first of my two-part presentation on the Holy Father's encyclical Deus Caritas Est, which I am scheduled to deliver Monday evening at The Cathedral of the Madeleine, as we begin our ambitious Lenten schedule of events in earnest. To this end, as always, I invoke the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Mary, St. Mary Magdalene, Sts. Stephen and Martin of Tours, Sts. Lawrence, Philip, and Francis of Assisi. I would also greatly appreciate your prayers as we re-inaugurate, after a hiatus of several years, our Cathedral Lenten series.


(Diaconal bow to Fr. Erik over at The Orthometer for bringing Bishop Vasa's most recent article to my attention)